Timo Mäkinen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Timo Mäkinen

Mäkinen (on the right) with Rauno Aaltonen and Pauli Toivonen
Personal information
Nationality Finland Finnish
Born (1938-05-18) 18 May 1938
Helsinki, Finland
World Rally Championship record
Active years 1973–1981, 1994
Teams Ford, Toyota, Peugeot
Rallies 39
Championships 0
Rally wins 4
Podiums 7
Stage wins 73
Total points 7
First rally 1973 Monte Carlo Rally
First win 1973 1000 Lakes Rally
Last win 1975 Wales Rally GB
Last rally 1994 Monte Carlo Rally

Timo Mäkinen (born 18 March 1938 in Helsinki, Finland) was one of the original "Flying Finns" of motor rallying. He is most famous for his hat-tricks of wins in the RAC Rally and the 1000 Lakes Rally.

Career

Mäkinen at the 1965 1000 Lakes

Mäkinen's start in international rallying came in the 1959 1000 Lakes Rally (now Rally Finland), in a Triumph TR3. He later drove works Austin-Healeys and Minis. In the big Healey, he finished fifth in the RAC Rally in 1963. Mäkinen drove Minis during most of 1964 but came second in the RAC Rally in a Healey, at the end of that year. He returned to the Mini Cooper S in 1965, winning the Monte Carlo Rally and the 1000 Lakes, and capturing a Coupe des Alpes at the Alpine Rally.[1] He came second in the 1965 RAC Rally, again in a Healey.

In 1967, Timo Mäkinen drove his Mini at a high speed through the famous Ouninpohja stage of the 1000 Lakes with the car's bonnet open. Leather straps holding the bonnet were not thoroughly tightened, and they opened after a few rough bounces. He tried to put his head out of the side window but his helmet was too big and he could only stick his head halfway out. So he had to skid the car sideways continuously to see the road ahead. Even so Mäkinen was third fastest on that special stage and he also won the rally overall, for the third year in a row.

In 1975, Mäkinen won the RAC for the third time in a row, at the wheel of a Ford Escort RS1800, preceded only by Erik Carlsson (Saab 96) in that feat. Mäkinen won the Finnish Rally Championship three times, the ice track championship six times and the saloon car race championship three times.

In 1969, Mäkinen competed in the very first Round Britain Powerboat Race, which he won. In 1994, Mäkinen made a brief return as Mini celebrated the 30th anniversary of their 1964 Monte Carlo win by Paddy Hopkirk, who also participated in the race. Mäkinen retired on the second stage with a fuel system problem. In 2010, he was among the first four inductees into the Rally Hall of Fame, along with Carlsson, Hopkirk and Rauno Aaltonen.[2]

Complete WRC results

Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 WDC Points
1973 Ford Motor Company Ltd Ford Escort RS1600 MON
11		 SWE POR KEN
Ret		 FIN
1		 AUT ITA USA GBR
1		 FRA N/A N/A
Automobiles Peugeot Peugeot 504 MOR
Ret		 GRE POL
1974 Automobiles Peugeot Peugeot 504 MON
C		 SWE
C		 POR KEN
Ret		 GRE
C		 N/A N/A
Ford Motor Company Ltd Ford Escort RS1600 FIN
2		 ITA CAN USA GBR
1		 FRA
1975 Automobiles Peugeot Peugeot 504 MON SWE KEN
Ret		 GRE MOR
4		 POR N/A N/A
Ford Motor Company Ltd Ford Escort RS1800 FIN
3		 ITA
Ret		 FRA GBR
1
1976 Ford Motor Company Ltd Ford Escort RS1800 MON
Ret		 SWE POR MOR
Ret		 FIN
4		 ITA GBR
Ret		 N/A N/A
Automobiles Peugeot Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé KEN
Ret		 GRE
Peugeot 104 ZS FRA
Ret
1977 Fiat S.p.A. Fiat 131 Abarth MON SWE
Ret		 POR FIN
Ret		 CAN
Ret		 ITA GBR
11		 NC 0
Automobiles Peugeot Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé KEN
Ret		 NZL GRE
Peugeot 104 ZS FRA
Ret
1978 Automobiles Peugeot Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé MON SWE KEN
Ret		 CIV
2		 FRA GBR NC 0
Peugeot 104 ZS POR
7		 GRE FIN CAN ITA
1979 Marshalls Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé MON SWE POR KEN
Ret		 GRE NZL CIV
Ret		 NC 0
Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica 2000 GT FIN
Ret		 CAN ITA FRA GBR
1980 BMW France BMW 320i MON
14		 SWE POR KEN 35th 7
Automobiles Peugeot Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé GRE
10		 ARG
Ret		 CIV
Ret
Timo Mäkinen Racing Triumph TR7 V8 FIN
22		 NZL ITA FRA
Rothmans Rally Team Ford Escort RS1800 GBR
6
1981 Marshalls Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé MON SWE POR KEN
Ret		 FRA GRE ARG BRA FIN ITA CIV GBR NC 0
1994 Timo Mäkinen Rover Mini Cooper MON
Ret		 POR KEN FRA GRE ARG NZL FIN ITA GBR NC 0

International wins

  • 1964 Tulip Rally (Mini Cooper S)
  • 1965 Monte Carlo Rally (Mini Cooper S)
  • 1965 1000 Lakes Rally (Mini Cooper S)
  • 1966 1000 Lakes Rally (Mini Cooper S)
  • 1966 Three Cities Rally (Mini Cooper S)
  • 1967 1000 Lakes Rally (Mini Cooper S)
  • 1972 Hong Kong Rally (Ford Escort RS1600)
  • 1973 Arctic Rally (Ford Escort RS1600)
  • 1973 1000 Lakes Rally (Ford Escort RS1600)
  • 1973 RAC Rally (Ford Escort RS1600)
  • 1974 RAC Rally (Ford Escort RS1600)
  • 1974 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire (Ford Escort RS1600)
  • 1975 RAC Rally (Ford Escort RS1800)
  • 1976 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire (Peugeot 504 V6)

References

  1. ↑ Pfundner, Martin (2005). Alpine Trials & Rallies: 1910 to 1973. Veloce Publishing Ltd. pp. 90–91. 
  2. ↑ "New Inductees to Rally Hall of Fame". Neste Oil Rally Finland. 9 February 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2012. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Timo Mäkinen.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.